The Chase Begins in NASCAR

The regular season is over for the NASCAR drivers and it is time for the playoffs – now known as The Chase.

And along with a new name comes a new set of rules…

The number of drivers competing for the championship remains the same – 10 in the Craftsman Truck Series, 12 in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, and 16 in the Cup Series.  There are seven races in The Chase for the Craftsman Truck Series, nine in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, and 10 in the Cup Series.

The “win and you’re in” has gone by the wayside and has been replaced with a format that will “reward performance throughout the season and provide a larger sample size to determine the championship.”

The “Chase” drivers were determined by the number of points from stage and race wins were earned over the course of the season.

Points earned for the stage breaks remain the same with the winner earning 10 points with each successive spot one less point until the 10^th place driver earns just one point.

However, the points earned for race wins and finishing positions has changed.  Drivers now earn 55 points for a race win with the second place driver earning 35 points; from third on, the drivers earn one less point than the previous driver – third is 34 points, fourth is 33 points, etc.

Drivers can also earn one point for running the fastest lap during the race.

Unlike the previous playoff format, no drivers are eliminated at the end of a round.

At the end of the regular season, The Chase drivers had their points reset with the number one driver earning 2,100 points, with the second place driver getting, 2,075 points, third gets 2,065 points, and points decreasing by five points until the last driver gets 2,000 points.  Stage and race finishing points will be added to the new point totals to determine the championship.

After winning five races during the regular season, Denny Hamlin leads the points at the end of the regular season in the Cup Series.  Earning over 300 stage points, Justin Allgaier tops the standings in the O’Reilly Series, and Layne Riggs leads the way in the Truck Series.